From the Archives: May Court Opening

Now housing The Hospice at May Court, in 1961 114 Cameron Avenue was inaugurated by the wife of the Governor-General as the May Court Convalescent Home.

You can see how the house looked then in this story from the Ottawa Citizen on June 6, 1961.

May Court’s Convalescent Home Officially Opened by Mrs. Vanier

Patients admitted to the new May Court Club Convalescent Home for Women at 114 Cameron Avenue, will find themselves in cheerful surroundings with a harmonious “home away from home” atmosphere.

Able to accommodate 41 patients, the home has five private rooms, 10 two-bed rooms, and four wards with four beds each. For the latter there is a nominal charge of $1 a day – made possible by a government subsidy.

Mrs. Vanier Officiates

This afternoon Her Excellency Mrs. George Vanier, wife of the Governor-General, cut a ribbon at the ambulance entrance of the building and declared the May Court Convalescent Home officially open.

The opening culminated hundreds of hours of volunteer work by the executive and the members of the May Court Club.

“I think we’ll just move into those four-bed wards and take a rest for a month” laughed one executive in the strain of yesterday’s pre-opening hours. But, despite their joking, members displayed a sense of proud accomplishment as the attractive one-storey home opened its doors to the public.

Open Patio

Everything has been thought of for the patients’ care and comfort. Nor were psychological factors neglected. The bedrooms all have floor-to-ceiling drapes in gay floral chintz, with bedspreads, arm chairs, and a single wall in each keyed to one shade of the drapes.

An open patio overlooking the river and linking two attractive lounges, gives a luxurious holiday resort air to the home. The bedrooms are built in a square, with a glassed-in dining room at one end, overlooking an open courtyard.

The former residence of Mr. and Mrs. Albert Ewart, the building also accommodates the May Court’s board meeting and activity rooms.

Building fund objective is $225,000 and already 82.6 per cent of that amount has been collected.

Executive members of the club include: Mrs. Eric Prime, president; Mrs. Selwyn H. Wilson, chairman of the finance committee; Mrs. Peter Smellie and Mrs. Manson Campbell, co-chairmen of the fund-raising committee; Mrs. Gordon Medcalf, chairman of the building committee; and Mrs. Warren Buskard, convener of the Convalescent Home.